BLOOMINGTON – Nick Polk barked out a call during a 7-on-7 drill. Fellow safety Austin Thomas quickly relayed the directions to other members of the defense.

Both seniors were taking control. It was something that was missing at the end of Indiana’s 2008 season when the two were out with ACL injuries.

“It feels awesome (to be back). I missed it so much,” Thomas said. “It just feels really good to be running around here with these guys.”

Thomas appeared in just six games. He missed two with an ankle injury and the final four with the ACL injury. Thomas made 41 tackles and had a team-leading two interceptions in his shortened season.

Polk played in eight games. He sat one out with a knee injury and missed the last three with his ACL injury. He finished sixth on the team with 52 tackles.

IU coach Bill Lynch said both look fully recovered.

“They were pretty close in the spring. We were pretty conservative in the spring. Nick and Austin, if we were playing games, they could have played,” Lynch said.

“We just decided to be smart. Just watching them go through the drills, I don’t see any problems. And I know they are going to hit you once we start tackling. They are good football players, they really are.”

Thomas has the most tackles among the Hoosiers’ returning players with 202 for his career. He led IU with 112 tackles in 2007. Polk made the transition from wide receiver to safety in 2007. He has 126 career tackles and three interceptions.

“They are almost like a security blanket, whether it’s run or pass,” senior linebacker Will Patterson said. “Polk has been lifting good over the summer and (Thomas) as well. You can go in the weight room and see either one of them working out beyond what we’re supposed to do.

“Just having those guys is going to be big for us.”

Polk admits there were some tough times while rehabbing.

“Going through it was difficult at first. This was one of my first serious injuries for me,” he said. “The mind-set was difficult at first. But it helped having guys in your ear saying, ‘You’re going to be fine. You’re going to bounce back from this like no other.’ ”

He was able to lean on Thomas for support.

“That actually helped me out a lot since he had his surgery first,” Polk said. “I always tried to catch up with him in rehab so we had competition. It pushed us harder. We just wanted to push each other to be the best we could be.”

Thomas last appeared Oct. 25 against Northwestern. Polk’s last action came Nov. 1 against Central Michigan. Both took something away while missing time.

“Just make the most of everything,” Thomas said. “Just come out here and have fun doing this. You never know when and where will be your last play.”

lpope@jg.net